Sponsors gauge their return at UK

During every game at Rupp
Arena, University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith paces the
sideline in front of a thoughtfully placed, vibrant orange Gatorade cooler,
which sits between the team’s bench and the scorer’s table.

Smith is shown while taping commercials for
Kroger, a Kentucky sponsor for a dozen years.

The cooler is empty. It’s
nothing more than product placement for Gatorade, which spends about $250,000
in product and cash annually to be a Kentucky sponsor. The coolers that
actually contain the sports drink sit at the other end of the bench.

Gatorade is one of 11
companies that pay between $250,000 and $750,000 annually to be a Kentucky
corporate partner through the marketing of Host Communications.

In exchange, these partners
receive advertising on Kentucky’s radio and TV networks, endorsement
opportunities with the coaches, hospitality, promotions, use of the “UK” marks
or any other service they select from a menu of assets.

Gatorade, which has deals
with 71 NCAA Division I schools across the country, calls Kentucky one of its
premier partnerships.

Scott Paddock, senior manager
of sports marketing, said Gatorade’s research indicates that few schools offer
as much visibility for its sideline cups, coolers and towels as Kentucky.
“They’re always in the top 10 in terms of the exposure they deliver,” Paddock
said.

For companies with more of a
regional focus, such as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Kroger, the
Wildcats are an ideal platform to reach consumers throughout the commonwealth.

Anthem has been a Kentucky
sponsor all 18 years that Jude Thompson has been with the company. Thompson,
senior vice president of WellPoint, Anthem’s parent company, buys print and
radio advertising, in addition to its promotions.

During one game, Kentucky
cheerleaders threw keepsake towels into the crowd with “UK” and Anthem marks.

“What gets Kentuckians
excited is Kentucky basketball,” Thompson said. “Kentucky basketball gives us a
very good return on our investment.”

Sponsors say they enjoy the amount of
exposure that coach Tubby Smith and
the University of Kentucky men’s
basketball team can deliver.

In addition to serving as the
group health-care provider for a number of companies, Anthem also markets its
health, dental, vision and life insurance products to individuals.

“When you think of the good
will involved with putting Anthem on towel giveaways or being able to send a
Tubby Smith-autographed basketball to a client, it really makes sense for us,”
Thompson said.

Kroger, a Kentucky corporate
partner for a dozen years, pays for the use of Smith and football coach Rich
Brooks in its ads.

Just a few years ago, Kroger
would have gone through a coach’s agent for an endorsement deal. Now the
supermarket and any other sponsor that wants to use Kentucky’s coaches call
Host.

Smith receives a guaranteed
amount of radio/TV endorsements as part of his contract with the school, and
Host arranges the endorsements. In 2006-07, Smith’s base salary is $200,000 and
his endorsement income is $1.775 million for a total of nearly $2 million guaranteed.

By writing its contracts this
way, the school maintains some form of authority in an age when institutional
control is closely examined by the NCAA.

“It just streamlines
everything, keeps it nice and neat,” said Rob Mullens, Kentucky’s deputy athletic
director. “It also is a way of protecting our assets.”

As part of its deal with
Host, Kroger essentially purchases a few hours of Smith’s time to shoot
multiple ads that likely will run for more than a year.

“It has a huge impact,
especially if the team is winning,” said Larry Columbia, Kroger’s Mid-South
vice president of merchandising.

Kroger also sells UK’s
licensed merchandise in its stores, an aspect of exclusivity that it negotiated
through Host. When Columbia found out that a competing grocery store was
selling UK merchandise, he called Host and put a stop to it.

Columbia also believes that
Kroger is tapping into thousands of potential shoppers who are University of
Kentucky employees and students.

“If we can attract students
who are 18 and keep them as shoppers until they’re 80, that’s good for us,”
Columbia said.